India Arie Acoustic Soul CD

India Arie was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. ACOUSTIC SOUL was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Album Of The Year and for Best R&B Album. "Video" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Record Of The Year, for Song Of The Year, for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best R&B Song.

Cut from the same rootsy R&B cloth as Erykah Badhu, Atlanta-born India Arie's full-length debut after her first public emergence on Spike Lee's BAMBOOZLED soundtrack is a down-home affair, where acoustic guitars, live drums, and stand-up bass share space with more contemporary production devices. Arie's voice has an insinuating, seductive undertone that works its way into the listener's subconscious.

Songs such as "Video" are both catchy and centered on a subtly feminist theme, proving that Arie is up to having her cake and eating it, too, while the unimpeachably sexy "Brown Skin" is quintessential bedroom mood music. Arie's debut promises much, and delivers even more.

Additional Tracks

Engineers: Mike Tocci, Kevin Haywood, Avery Johnson.

Personnel: India.Arie (vocals, acoustic guitar); Blue Miller (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, programming, background vocals); Bob Power (guitar, programming); Marlene Rice (violin); Judeth Insel (viola); Nioka Workman, John Catchings (cello); Mark Batson (Fender Rhodes piano, organ, Mellotron, keyboards, synthesizer, drums, percussion, programming); Larry Goldings (organ, Wurlitzer organ); Tony Harrell (keyboards); Steve Grossman (drums, percussion); Ralph Rolle (drums); Terry MacMillan, David Spak, Bashiri Johnson (percussion); Carlos "6 July" Broady (programming); Duane Covert, Kerisha Hicks, Laurnea Wilkerson, Joyce Simpson (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Dave Way; George Karras; Kevin Haywood; Chris Mazer; Alvin Speights; Mike Shipley; Blue Miller; Jim Lightman; Bob Power.

Photographers: Kwaku Alston; Michael Benabib.

Personnel includes: India Arie (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, percussion); Bob Power (conductor); Blue Miller (acoustic & electrc guitars, programming); Marlene Rice, Kelly Hall-Tompkins (violin); Judeth Insel-Stack (viola); John Catchings, Nioka Workman (cello); Mark Batson (celeste, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, Mellotron, keyboards, synthesizer, drums, percussion, programming); Larry Goldings (Wurlitzer piano, organ); Tony Harrell (keyboards); Avery Johnson, Doug Kahan (bass); Steve Grossman (drums, percussion); Abe Fogle, Ralph Rolle (drums); Dave Spak, Terry MacMillan, Bashiri Johnson (percussion); Carlos Broady (programming); Kerisha Hicks, Tony Harrington, Joyce Simpson, Duane Covert (background vocals).

Producers: India Arie, Kevin Haywood, Blue Miller, Bob Power, Mark Batson.

Entertainment Weekly (3/30/01, p.68) - "...Her balmy soul stylings and positive lyrics illuminate the entire album...and may stir you to put a flower in your hair..." - Rating: A
Q (6/01, p.100) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Arie's warm, folky sound and credible songwriting...may be just enough to give her a niche [amongst] the headscarf-wearing crooning in the vein of Lauryn Hill, Angie Stone, Erykah Badu [and] Jill Scott ..."
Mixmag (6/01, p.179) - 4 out of 5 - "...Pulls up next to the organic, pure aesthetics espoused by the likes of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu....A compelling set..."
Muzik (5/01, p.96) - 5 out of 5 - "...Faultless. Absolutely. 100% faultless...this is the future of soul music..."
Mojo (Publisher) (6/01, p.114) - "...A classy start, Arie's Tracy Chapman-like acoustic guitar underpinning the grooves with real finesse..."